UPDATE: Camp Lejeune Marine killed in Texas tragedy

Four veterans, including a Camp Lejeune Marine, were killed on Thursday when a train hit a float carrying military veterans and their spouses.

DAILY NEWS STAFF

Updated at 4:34 p.m.

Shannon Stouffer learned of her father’s death in a 5 a.m. Friday call from her grandparents in Pennsylvania to the Stouffer family’s Hubert home.

“Your daddy’s gone,” the 17-year-old recounted them telling her.

The news was still sinking in Friday that Chief Warrant Officer 3 Gary Stouffer, 37, with 10th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, was one of four — two others from North Carolina and one from Texas — killed on Thursday when a train hit a float carrying military veterans and their spouses as part of a parade to a banquet to honor the returning war heroes.

“I'm in a mourned shock right now,” said Shannon, a senior at Swansboro High School. “It hurts because he's gone and he won’t be at my graduation or walk me down the aisle on my wedding day.”

Shannon stood with friends outside her family's home in Hubert, remembering the Lejeune Marine that she described as “very serious” and “a big outdoorsman.”

“He and I were very alike in that we were both stubborn,” said Shannon, who also has a 12-year-old brother. “My dad was a good person to look up to.”

Their mother Catherine, who was also on the float, was flying home Friday, Shannon said.

Gary Stouffer, who will be buried in Arlington National Cemetery, and 47-year-old Sgt. Maj. Lawrence Boivin of Fayetteville were pronounced dead at the scene, Midland police spokesman Ryan Stout said. Army Sgt. Joshua Michael, 34 of San Antonio, and 43-year-old Sgt. Maj. William Lubbers of Fayetteville died later at Midland Memorial Hospital.

Of those hurt, four are in stable condition and one is critical, Stout said. Ten others were treated and released from the hospital in Midland, about 320 miles west of Dallas.

Stouffer had served in the Marine Corps for 17 years, according to a biography posted on the San Angelo Standard Times. The biography, that appears to have been written by Stouffer, stated that during a deployment in Afghanistan, his convoy was hit by a complex attack that left him with a traumatic brain injury, anxiety disorders, PTSD and compression fractures in his neck and lower back.

“It has been two years since the incident, and I am still undergoing speech therapy and physical therapy, and I’m being monitored by multiple doctors,” the biography stated.

Stouffer wrote that his dream was to attain Chief Warrant Officer 5 and stay in the Marine Corps for 30 years, but he would be happy to make it to 20 years of service before retiring.

The float was hit as it sat at a railroad crossing, unable to move forward because of another vehicle directly in front of it.

Late Thursday, Union Pacific spokesman Tom Lange said a preliminary investigation indicated the crossing gate and lights were working. He did not know if the train crew saw the float. The black box from the train will determine its speed at the time of impact.

The parade had been scheduled to end at a “Hunt for Heroes” banquet honoring the veterans. The wounded service members were then going to be treated to a deer-hunting trip at the weekend. The events were canceled.

A fund has been set up for the veterans and families affected by the train crash. According to the San Angelo Standard Times, Mike Boyd, 1st Financial Bank president and CEO, said 100 percent of monies donated will go directly to the families.

Daily News columnist Mike McHugh and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Updated at 2:23 p.m.

MIDLAND, Texas -- Four veterans, including a Camp Lejeune Marine, were killed on Thursday when a train hit a float carrying military veterans and their spouses.

According to a report from the Associated Press, the float was on its way to a banquet to honor the returning war heroes.

The float took the full force of the train at a railroad crossing in Midland, the article stated. Some managed to jump clear as the train bore down on the float decorated with American flags. Horrified spectators could only watch as the carnage unfolded.

“The train honked its horn, but the 18-wheeler could not go anywhere because of the other one being right in front of it,” said Daniel Quinonez, who was waiting in his vehicle as the parade went by. “It was a horrible accident to watch happen right in front of me. I just saw the people on the semi-truck's trailer panic, and many started to jump off the trailer. But it was too late for many of them.”

Of those hurt, four are in stable condition and one is critical, Stout said. Ten others were treated and released from the hospital in Midland, about 320 miles west of Dallas.

Late Thursday, Union Pacific spokesman Tom Lange said a preliminary investigation indicated the crossing gate and lights were working. He did not know if the train crew saw the float. The black box from the train will determine its speed at the time of impact.

Federal Railroad Administration records reviewed by The Associated Press show that there have been 10 previous collisions — five cars and five trucks — at the same railroad crossing since 1979. Six drivers were injured in those accidents, but there were no fatalities. The trains involved were moving slowly at the time of the previous accidents, between 15 and 25 miles per hour.

The parade had been scheduled to end at a “Hunt for Heroes” banquet honoring the veterans. The wounded service members were then going to be treated to a deer-hunting trip at the weekend. The events were canceled.

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MIDLAND, Texas (AP) — A joyful celebration turned to chaos as a train, its horn blaring, barreled into a float laden with military veterans and their spouses on their way to a banquet to honor the returning war heroes.

At least four veterans, one of which is reportedly from Camp Lejeune, were killed in the collision Thursday afternoon.

The float took the full force of the train at a railroad crossing in Midland. Some managed to jump clear as the train bore down on the float decorated with American flags. Horrified spectators could only watch as the carnage unfolded.

Pam Shoemaker from Monroe, La., said she and her husband, a special operations veteran, were on the float ahead of the one that was struck. Shoemaker described how the celebration so quickly turned sour.

She said her truck had just crossed the tracks and was moving slowly but never stopped. All around, the crowds lining the parade route cheered.

“It was beautiful,” she said Friday. “There were lots of people with signs. Children yelling ‘thank you!’ waving flags.”

Then they heard the train coming. There was no warning — she hadn't seen or heard it until it was upon them. The Shoemakers jumped from their truck and ran toward the other one, knowing it would be hit in a matter of seconds. The crossing barriers had just started to come down, she said.

“We started to jump off of our trailer. We saw people jumping from the other trailer and then there was the impact,” Shoemaker said.

Sudip Bose, who was a front-line physician in Iraq, said Friday that the immediate aftermath reminded him of a combat triage situation. Veterans were already tending to the wounded when he reached the crash site. Bystanders tried to help with the limited medical supplies available.

“Instincts kicked in. They were applying tourniquets, holding pressure to the wounds,” said Bose, who served in Fallujah and Baghdad and was volunteering at the parade.

Sixteen other people were hurt in the crash.

“It was a scene of total chaos,” said Bose, of nearby Odessa.

Shoemaker credited the training and courage of the veterans who jumped to help the injured. Her husband, Tommy, resuscitated one person and applied a tourniquet to a bleeding woman.

“They are trained for tragedy,” Shoemaker said.

Spectators described their horror and helplessness as the train hurtled toward the flatbed tractor-trailer that was unable to move because of other floats in the parade.

“The train honked its horn, but the 18-wheeler could not go anywhere because of the other one being right in front of it,” said Daniel Quinonez, who was waiting in his vehicle as the parade went by. “It was a horrible accident to watch happen right in front of me. I just saw the people on the semi-truck's trailer panic, and many started to jump off the trailer. But it was too late for many of them.”

Of those hurt, four are in stable condition and one is critical, Stout said. Ten others were treated and released from the hospital in Midland, about 320 miles west of Dallas.

At a prayer vigil Friday morning, Mayor Wes Parry's voice cracked as he described how he had met Boivin and his wife a day earlier.

“It's hard to believe today that he's not here anymore,” Parry said.

Deborah Hersman, NTSB chairwoman, said Friday on NBC's “Today” show that the train was equipped with a forward-facing camera whose footage could help in the investigation. NTSB officials were heading to Midland on Friday to investigate the crash.

“That will give us some video images if it survived the crash and we can download it, as well as recorders on the train,” Hersman said. “We're going to be looking at the signals ... and making sure that the gates and lights were coming down.”

Late Thursday, Union Pacific spokesman Tom Lange said a preliminary investigation indicated the crossing gate and lights were working. He did not know if the train crew saw the float. The black box from the train will determine its speed at the time of impact.

Federal Railroad Administration records reviewed by The Associated Press show that there have been 10 previous collisions — five cars and five trucks — at the same railroad crossing since 1979. Six drivers were injured in those accidents, but there were no fatalities. The trains involved were moving slowly at the time of the previous accidents, between 15 and 25 miles per hour.

The parade had been scheduled to end at a “Hunt for Heroes” banquet honoring the veterans. The wounded service members were then going to be treated to a deer-hunting trip at the weekend. The events were canceled.

The events were organized by Show Of Support, a local veterans group that says its mission is to “lift the spirits of our U.S. troops and disable veterans” through hunting and fishing. The group's president, Terry Johnson, has not responded to emails seeking comment and his phone number was unlisted; the phone rang unanswered at the group's offices.

Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta was saddened by the news of the accident, Pentagon spokesman George Little said in a statement, adding that Panetta's “thoughts and prayers” are with the victims and the community.

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Terry Wallace reported from Dallas. Associated Press writer James Beltran in Dallas and Joan Lowy in Washington contributed to this report.